ACCR Company Engagement JFE Steel Corporation
JFE Steel Corporation is the world's 14th-largest steelmaker and Japan’s second largest steel producer. It was created in 2002 through the merger of the steel manufacturing business of Kawasaki Steel and NKK and is owned by JFE Holdings Inc, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In FY2021, JFE’s greenhouse gas emissions were 79.78 MtCO2-e pa for Scope 1, 2 and 3 combined, with the majority of its emissions coming from domestic steel production - accounting for approximately 5% of Japan’s total emissions in 2021.
JFE Steel is positioning itself for the future of decarbonised steel production, actively exploring the Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) and Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) route, utilising green hydrogen as a key component. In late November 2023, JFE announced its intention to replace a blast furnace at its Kurashiki plant with a new electric arc furnace by 2027, which when in operation, would reduce CO2 emissions by 2.6 million tonnes per year.
ACCR has been engaging with JFE Steel since 2021 on enhancements to its climate governance and decarbonisation measures, along with institutional investors Man Group and Storebrand Asset Management
Details of JFE’s announced steel and iron decarbonisation projects, which feature in ACCR’s global coverage of the steel sector’s emission reduction efforts, can be found here.
